


Dreaming of a Place to Call Home

by Yugare



Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: F/M, Fluff this stuff up, I'm trying to get better at this, Let this be the first fanfic I don't give up on, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 02:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13626855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yugare/pseuds/Yugare
Summary: When Piper Snow is sent to live with another foster family in Arcadia, she never expected to loose her new mother so soon. A string of bad luck has plagued the girl since she was five and her previous foster families either gave her up in fear or died in the crossfire.After setting foot in Arcadia, it's feels like magic is the least of her problems. Changelings, killer trolls, new friends, a new family, the most unlikely of bonds, and a truth Piper long thought she had forgotten about. After the gruesome faith plays it's cards, Claire steps up and allows Piper to stay until someone decides on what to do with her. It's a surprise to everyone when Mr. Strickler steps up and signs the adoption papers.It would seem like a good ending to everyone in town who didn't know who Strickler was but for Jim, Claire and Toby, it's a nightmare. Especially after Piper starts to distance herself until she no longer speaks to anyone but Strickler. After countless hours of begging, Vendel caves and allows Jim to bring in another "fleshbag" to Trollmarket. Now faced with blinky's conspiracies and Vendel's watchful gaze the truth is pried out.





	Dreaming of a Place to Call Home

It was early Friday morning when a moving truck stopped outside an old two-story house in Arcadia. A lady with gorgeous red hair and emerald eyes was busy at work taking the boxes out and giving them to a teen with long black hair, who carried them into the house. 

Jim watched a little interested at the new family that moved in until his mother yawned and made her way over to him. 

"What are you looking at Jim?" She asked a little curious.

"Oh! Um.... there's a new family that's moving in right down the street."

"Oh! It's been a long time since somebody lived in that house. We should visit them tonight and welcome them to the neighbourhood."

"Yeah. That sounds nice. Oh! Is it really 8?! I'm going to be late! Bye mom, love you!" 

 

Jim ran around the house, picking up his school bag and bike helmet as well as two of the lunches he packed. He ran to the garage pulled out his bike as Tobs pulled up into his driveway.

"We are gonna be late! We are going to be in so much trouble!!" 

"I know! I know! come on!" Jim answered with an eye roll. 

Before taking off, Jim eyed the family moving in once more but he couldn't get a clear look at their faces. He shrugged and continued on his way. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Piper dear, careful with this one. It has my apothecary equipment in it." 

Alright Camelia."

Piper gently grabbed the box and ran up the stairs, to the room across her own. She figured Camelia would like the room with the most windows for her workshop. The old house was pretty dusty but had its own charms like the old wallpaper that still had the visible roses splayed across it or the old wood doors. Before leaving the room, Piper passed her hand over the aging wood and walked over to her own room. She opened up the windows and let the wind blow out the old musty smell and replace it with the sweet smell of fresh air, clover, and grass. If she could, she would make the smell into a candle and always keep it lit. It was one of her favorite smells in the world.

Piper walked back down the stairs and helped Cam with the rest of the load. It was tough but they managed to finally unload the truck by two. The driver shook Camelia’s hand and went on his way leaving the two of them on their own. Cam looked over to Piper with a sly smirk before she finally caught on to what she was trying to say.

“Oh no, no, no. I am not going to cast the spell this time. Last time you made me do it, I lost Alexander Hamilton the Fifth.” Piper hissed.

“Oh, alright. You’re never going to learn unless you try, every mistake makes you better. Why did you name your goldfish after the guy on the ten-dollar bill?” asked Cam with a small smirk.

“I was going through my musical phase.” Pip mumbled, embarrassed about it.

Cam let out a sweet laugh and took out her pocket grimoire. With a quick whisper the boxes started to unpack themselves quickly and by the time the clock struck two, everything was in it’s proper place. Cam walked up to her apothecary with Pip trailing behind and set up the ingredients to start mixing as Piper got out her watercolours. As Cam would mix some of her concoctions and scribble down in a book, Piper couldn’t help but glance at her and get lost in thought. 

This lady was her tenth foster-home since she was five, meaning she had a new foster-family every year of her life and it's been pretty lonely. Camelia just waltzed into the orphanage one day and demanded custody of her niece, who she claimed was Piper, but Pip had no memory of having any living family. She let it slide and waited for something to be said or done but it never happened. Now the two just spend their days in peaceful silence. Camelia would set up her apothecary equipment and she would set up her watercolours and paint the plants Cam would use in her mixing. Cam would often transcribe the recipes next to Piper’s drawings while she slept, in hopes that she could have her own copy of the book for herself one day. 

The day passed by and soon it was time to start on supper. Cam would get started on the food and Piper would set the table and go back to the kitchen to help peel the vegetables and get started on the side dishes. This was Pip’s favorite part of the day where she could get to know Cam better in a light and happy ambiance.

A knock came from the front door and Piper froze; anxiety creeping up on her. Her blood ran cold with the possibility of her little “curse” getting in the way. A gentle hand was placed on the young girls shoulder, grabbing her attention. 

"Hey Pip, could you get the door for me please?" Cam asked with a reassuring smile.

"Uh... sure...." mumbled Pip 

She approached the door cautiously and opened it slightly. A woman with red hair and striking aqua eyes and a boy with black hair and soft blue eyes smiled at her.

"Hi, I heard there was a new neighbour that moved in and we wanted to welcome you to the neighbourhood. I'm Barbara and this is Jim." The woman named Barbara beamed.

Pip stayed silent but smiled brightly at them. She hadn't met too many people this nice with her constant moving and it was a little strange to say the least. Cam heard the voices and rushed to Pip's side.

"Hello~ I'm Camelia and this is Piper. How thoughtful of you to stop by, would you like to come in for some tea? I've just made supper so you're more then welcome to join us." She asked with a gentle smile.

"Oh, I couldn't put you through that trouble." Barbara stammered 

"Nonsense! The more the merrier!" Cam chimed, leading the Barbara and James to the dinning room.

Just like that the neighbours were sitting next to her at the table. Barbara and Cam clicked right away and after supper were in the tea room; talking about grown up things like family problems and worries. Jim and Piper on the other hand weren't so sure about what to do.

"So... um... Piper, right? How are you liking Arcadia so far?" Jim asked awkwardly.

"It's a very nice place, I'm just not sure if I'll be staying here for long..." Mumbled Pip.

"Does your mom move a lot with work? “ Jim questioned 

"Yeah... well... she... um... well... yes." Piper stammered, looking away a little shy.

Jim saw how flustered Piper got and decided to drop the question and move onto something else. He was about to say something until he saw a faint blue glowing from his pocket. Panicking he jumped up a bit and started to pack up.

"Sorry to bounce but I got a lot of homework. How about we go to school together in the morning? You can meet my best friend Toby. I'm sure you'll get along great." he inquired.

"Uh... sure. See you tomorrow Jim."

Jim ran out the back door and left Piper to herself. She smiled to herself, thinking about how awkward James could be. Deciding it was best to let Cam and Barbara talk, she grabbed a book off the shelf and started to read it. The book was an old grimoire written in the language of the witches. Although she had learned how to read Welsh writing, the older language was harder to understand. Thinking back to Jim, she had a feeling that the glowing in his pocket wasn't caused by a cellphone but by something mystic or magical. It was a kind of feeling she couldn't shake off, like when Cam uses her spells. 

An hour passed and Barbara walked into the room to get Jim but looked around. She looked to Piper and asked;

"Do you know where Jim went?"

"Home I think, he had a lot of homework to do." Piper answered with a warm smile.

"Oh... well I'll be heading off too..." Barbara muttered.

"Goodbye Mrs. Lake, it was nice of you to join us." Pip beamed, hoping to make her feel better.

Barbara gave Piper a sad smile and nodded. She went back into the other room and said her adieux to Cam one last time before she left. The house was deathly silent and Cam walked in, she eyed the grimoire in Pipers hands and sighed. 

"I told you it's not a curse Pip, something has been causing the havoc that surrounds you but it's not a curse." She groaned out.

"That's not it Cam... I thought I felt.... something, on Jim..." Pip whispered.

"Oh, that, you're not going to find it in my grimoire. It's not a witch artifact. It's a troll artifact." Cam explained with a small smirk.

"So... you know what it is?" Pip inquired with a suspicious look.

"Yes, but you don't need to concern yourself with it. If anything, it will put you in more danger. I need you to stay safe Pip, a lot of things want you dead or in their possession... just... try and keep your distance from the boy outside of school. I don’t want you two close." Stated Cam, a little harsher than she would have liked.

"I don't understand..." Piper muttered, looking away.

"I know you don't... but you will soon. I promise. So... you didn't correct him when he called me your mom." Cam said with a sly grin growing on her face.

Piper was already half way up the stairs, flustered and embarrassed by the time Cam’s eyes fell back on her. She didn't see Camelia as a mother figure but more as a sister. Cam let out a hardy laugh at the sight of Piper’s flustered state.

"I was just teasing Pip! I know that's not the situation. You better get ready now, tomorrow is going to be eventful." She stated with a softer tone.  
With that Piper nodded and made her way to her room.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Adult Conversation 

"Thank you for supper Camelia. It was nice of you to invite us."

"It's no problem. It's not everyday friendly neighbours show up on our doorstep." Cam laughed.

Barbara looked down at her cup and had a bitter sweet smile. She seemed unsure if she should inquire about the family’s situation.  
"Is it just you and Piper?" Barbara muttered.

"Piper is... not my child. I adopted her a few months ago, but besides that, yes it’s just the two of us." Cam answered, avoiding eye contact.

"Really? That must have been a hard decision, to choose to raise a teen all on your own… So... what brought you to Arcadia?" Barbara asked surprised.

Camelia had a solemn look on her face and she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before answering Barbara’s question.

“Piper has been in ten foster homes since she was five, a new family every year, and I had no idea this was going on while I dealt with her mother’s business. I had no idea she survived the ordeal, but the moment I did, I went on a search for her. I owe it to her mother, she was my best friend. I did find her, but the damage was done… She's had so much bad luck. She doesn’t know how to socialize properly and fears people… I really hoped that Arcadia Oaks could give her a fresh start..." Cam explained.

"That's... terrible... I can’t imagine what has happened during her time in foster care but I do know she is lucky that you scooped her up. How’s she been holding up? " asked Barbara with a sympathetic look.

"Thanks, Barb. She's... hard to understand sometimes. She's tired all the time, constantly getting sick, has a hard time understanding emotions and feeling them, but says she's fine all the time." Cam listed, fidgeting with her teacup. 

"It's normal for a child to have a hard time after years of not having any stability. If you'd like, I could refer her to one of my colleagues in the psychiatric section." Barb asked with a hopeful smile. 

"That’s nice of you, but I think Piper would be too afraid to go." Camelia answered, pondering on it.

Barbara gave Cam a sweet smile and patted her hand before standing up.

"It's getting late, I should get out of your hair. Thank you for having us and if there's anything I can do for you or Piper, please don't hesitate to let me know."

"Thank you, Barbara."

"How about next Friday you guys come over to our place for supper?"

"We'd be delighted."

"See you then~"


End file.
